Important Tips for Solo Hiking

An experienced senior executive, R. Scott Bushley, holds an MBA from the Boston College Carroll Graduate School of Management. He now serves as a partner with Granite Point Capital in Boston. In his free time, Scott Bushley enjoys biking and hiking.

It’s natural to be apprehensive when hiking alone. Even if you have friends to go hiking with, learning the essentials of hiking, such as what to wear and what to carry on a hike, can be tedious for some. On the other hand, the advantages of hiking outweigh these initial difficulties.

Before heading out, it is best to take precautions, such as checking the weather forecast for the day and telling a friend or family member about your hiking plans.

Check into a ranger station and inform them you’ll be hiking alone for the day. Give them information about how long you’ll be hiking, plus your full name, and tell them you’ll check out on your way back. This will make finding out if you’re missing or not easier and ensure a quick search for you. It’ll go a long way toward saving you quickly in times of distress (when you’re hurt or lost). Rangers can also give you tips on areas that have been affected by rain or snow that you should avoid on your trail.

Remember to pack a map and compass; they will go a long way. Be sure to pack a map and a compass even when you’re confident about your knowledge of the trail you’re following. Your map should include an emergency exit route, water locations, and campsites. Maps and compasses will help you navigate unfamiliar terrain, especially during bad weather.

Finally, when hiking a trail for the first time, remember to research the local wildlife and prepare accordingly. If hiking in an area known to house bears, carry bear spray along with you and make lots of noise, so animals know to stay clear.

Basic Base Running Tips for Baseball and Softball

Based in Cohasset, Massachusetts, R. Scott Bushley is a partner focused on finances and operations at Granite Point Capital in Boston. When he is not overseeing the firm’s finance and business operations, Scott Bushley spends time as a baseball coach and member of the Cohasset Youth Baseball and Softball Association board of directors.

Base running is a common element of baseball and softball that cannot be overlooked by coaches, particularly at the youth level. Certain elements of base running are hard and fast rules of the sport, while others are matters of etiquette or strategy.

An example of an important base running rule involves overrunning first base. In virtually any other instance, a runner who is tagged by the ball while not standing on a base is declared out. However, the rules permit players to continue running beyond first base without risk of being tagged out, so long as they quickly turn around and head back to the base. Players do not have to turn into foul territory, but if they make any attempt to progress to second base, they are no longer safe.

From a coaching perspective, the first base rule is a good opportunity to encourage players to try their hardest and attempt to outrun a throw. This is not only a lesson in sportsmanship, but also it’s a strategic decision, as forcing a quick throw to first can result in an error.

A similar element of base running strategy involves sliding into the home plate. At the youth level, there is no rule stating that a player must slide into home. However, youth coaches often instruct players to slide into home whenever there is even a remote chance that there might be a play at the plate so that runners stay in the habit of sliding to avoid contact with the catcher.

6 Americans to Participate in Road Cycling at 2020 Olympics

The recipient of an MBA with a concentration in finance from Boston College’s Carroll Graduate School of Management, Scott Bushley is a partner at Granite Point Capital, where he oversees finance and business operations. Away from the office, Scott Bushley enjoys athletic pursuits such as cycling.

The 2020 Olympics will take place in Tokyo, Japan, with road cycling one of the events contested. The men’s and women’s road races will take place on July 25 and 26, respectively. In November, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced quotas for how many athletes each country can send to Tokyo to compete in the events as determined by UCI World Rankings. USA Cycling will send four women and two men to compete in the road cycling competition.

Countries can send a maximum of five male and four female athletes to participate in the event. For the men’s competition, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and Colombia will send the maximum of five athletes, while Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy will join the US on the women’s side as the only nations to send the maximum of four athletes. The US men and women are ranked 26th and fourth, respectively, in the UCI World Rankings.

The CYBSA’s Planned Upgrades and Improvements

Formerly serving as the head of business operations at BNY Mellon Investment Management, Scott Bushley has worked as a partner at Granite Point Capital since September 2018. Outside of his professional endeavors, Scott Bushley serves as the coordinator of the Cohasset Major League and as a member of the board of directors of the Cohasset Youth Baseball and Softball Association (CYBSA).

The CYBSA has been making slight improvements to baseball and softball fields in Cohasset in recent years with assistance from the Community Preservation Committee, and the organization is now seeking to implement larger upgrades. Planned improvements include expansions to the pitching and practice spaces, equipment storage enhancement, snack shack maintenance, and the establishment of development programs for player safety purposes. To raise money for these improvements, the organization planned to host its first fundraiser in a decade in October 2019.

CYBSA president Darrin Souza noted the need to move forward with these projects has been expedited due in part to the growth of youth softball and baseball. Softball, in particular, has become more popular in the region, and CYBSA has noticed steady growth in registration numbers. More than 400 boys and girls between the ages of 4 and 15 play in CYBSA leagues every year.